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When the players got to the TV pair, the backends looked really clean to me. When the balls got to the backend, they went sideways. When I watched Mika, it looked like that was what eliminated his hold. But in typical Mika fashion, he lofted it more and when the oil pushed a little, it developed.

Our biggest fear was Parker being the only lefty. But when he was throwing shots (in practice), it looked like he was struggling on one lane. It also looked like he was using way more surface.

In the title match, Belmo came over and threw his first two shots in practice from way in and slow. It looked terrible. Belmo then moved right and had too much speed with an IQ Tour Gold. Way too long. Then he tried his Lucid, which was better. He didn't have to throw it hard and it slowed down in the right spot. He used the ball most of the week and his look got really good.

Randy Pedersen

Once we got to Wes Malott, I knew it was going to be an all Storm and Roto Grip

affair. We had some great matches. It was Belmo's time. He got up and threw three phenomenal shots to win. Great title match and USBC Masters for Storm and Roto Grip.

Chris Schlemer

Going into the show we knew a few things were possible… If Parker got lined up, he could be tough to beat since he was the only lefty. We also knew that if Mika got lined up he could be hard to beat since he is the king of the straight, big loft. Luckily for us, our guys were able to take care of business and make for some exciting TV.

During the practice before the show, both Del and I felt the lanes were a pinch different and of course, that is usually the case on the TV pair. All the dust, dirt, setup, stripping and re-oiling to try and make them play close takes it's toll. After the 30 minutes of practice, we knew we had to wait and see how Mika would try and break them down.

He thought just like us; if the right side didn’t break down well, there was no way to stop the lefty. So Mika played the gutter like he had most of match play, which made it easier for our guys to play in.

Del and I convinced Belmo to move back right and use the Lucid to blend the lane which kept his angles more square. After a couple shots, he agreed and then a shoot-out came out of no where.

None of us expected the title match to be 240 plus; we all figured that 220 would be more than enough. We were wrong and that is why we play the game until the end.

Del Ballard Jr.

It was Wes' opinion that his IQ Tour was slowing down too much, but to me, it was long, then changing directions too quick and running out of gas. So we went to the Wrecker to try and keep it going, but with less speed. As it turned out, he bowled Parker and bowled a great game with a few breaks.

In the title match, Wes went back to the ball he used most of matchplay, the IQ Tour. He was able to because the oil finally carried down. It looked to me like his IQ Tour Pearl was too jumpy because he had to throw it too slow to read the lane. The IQ Tour read the lane way better. He had no idea where to play with that ball but he made the right guess and bowled a great game.

Randy Pedersen

I didn't know it at the time, but apparently someone stood up in Wes' tenth frame. We all feel terrible for him. Unfortunately, that kind of stuff happens and hopefully Wes will recover from that. He is bowling very well right now.

Chris Schlemer

When Wes got on the lanes, he of course was going to circle the lane. His IQ Tour was close but to me slowed down too much. So I asked if he had any other balls. He used the IQ Tour and Wrecker all week so for him, those were his only options. I suggested the IQ Tour Pearl and he said he would keep the speed down and use the Wrecker. Fair enough. That is what he did and that is how he advanced. It was all good. The next game, he tried the IQ Tour Pearl on the practice lane and was surprised how good it was. Like I told him and Del, I wanted to see a pearl ball so that is what he went with.

Of course things got interesting since Stu had decided he needed to circle the lane. That of course made the lanes a little tougher that game.

In the title match, Wes felt the IQ Tour Pearl was close, but needed the solid cover of the IQ Tour to cut through the carry down.

Del Ballard Jr.

Stuart made up his mind that if Mika won, he would play out and if Mika lost, he would play in. It was hard to talk him out of it. I did not really like in, as everything went long. Well, Stuart tried using the Crossroad, which he used only from in. He hit it with some surface. It was still long and he didn't want to ball up from in there. When the match started, Stu made a great shot but he air mailed the next three out of four. During the commercial break, I recommended that Stu go straight and it looked way better. It was too late however, and Wes went onto win the match.

Randy Pedersen

Stu bowled great all week and just couldn't get it going against Wes Malott. His look from in was not very productive. He has one title and will use this to get better. Good Masters for Stu Williams.

Chris Schlemer

Stu had it decided he needed to circle the lane. That of course made the lanes a little tougher that game. Both Del and I asked Stu to take a look at out on the 39’ pattern, since Mika made it look alright. Stu declined until mid-game in the commercial break when Del mentioned again to try out, since he was having issues repeating from inside. Wes wasn’t about to give up. Stu made a ball change to the Disturbed and made a big step right to play up the lane. It made it interesting.